New Venezuelan assembly to try opposition leaders for treason

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) — Venezuela’s all-powerful new constituent assembly said Tuesday it will hold treason trials for opposition leaders it said are promoting economic sanctions imposed by the United States.

The assembly approved a decree in which it announced a “historic” trial against “those who involved in promoting these immoral actions against the interests of the Venezuelan people.”

The assembly did not give any immediate word on which opposition figures it might put on trial. On Friday, the White House unveiled tough new financial sanctions against Caracas, which it said were aimed at stemming vital funding to the “dictatorship” of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. Moscow on Monday slammed the US sanctions, saying they were aimed at damaging the Latin American nation’s economy and aggravating tensions.

But French President Emmanuel Macron accused Maduro of creating a “dictatorship” in one of the harshest condemnations yet of the South American regime by a European leader.

US President Donald Trump’s threat of military force meanwhile has bolstered Maduro’s oft-repeated claim that Washington is plotting to topple him and wants to grab control of Venezuela’s oil — the largest proven reserves in the world.